Folding landing-gear for aeroplanes



M. H. MEGAFFIN. FOLDING LANDING GEAR FOR AEROPLANES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I5. 1919.

" 1,333,329. Patented Mar. 9,1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- JNVENTOR my BY .7 Z

A TTORA'EJS panying. drawings,

- ing gear.

-MORTON HALIBERT' 'MEGAVFIFIN, or nnonwoon,

Specification of Letters Patent.

IOWA.

FOLDING LANDING-GEAR FOR AEROPLAN ES.

Patented Mar. 9, 1920.

Application filed September 15, 1919. Serial No. 323,708.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MORTON HJMEGAFFIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Edgewood, in the county of Clay ton and State of Iowa, have invented a new and useful Improvement'i'n Folding Landing-Gears for Aeroplanes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.-

y invention relates to improvements in folding landing gears for aeroplanes, and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a folding landing gear which. may be folded when the machine is in the air but which may be released at will, to assume a position for landing.

A' further object of my invention is to provide means for positively lockin the landing gear in its foldedposition and also in its extended osition. i

' A further ob ect of my invention is to provide a simple device for accomplishing the above named objects which may be readily applied.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the invention will be articularly pointed out in the appended c aim.

My invention is illustrated in the accomforming pai t of thisap; pllcation, in which v, 1

Figure 1 is a side view of the portion of an aeroplane provided with my improved folding landing ear.

Figs. 2, 3, an showing the various positions of the land- Fig. 5 isa sectionalon g the line 55 of Fig. 6 is a sectional detail view showing a slidable connection for one ofthe supportin struts.

ig. 7 is a detail view showing an el'evating lever.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of an aeroplane body 1 of brackets 3 (see Fig. 5) having bearing supports 4 for pivot pins 5' to which are secured angers 6 for wheels 7. The bottom part of each hanger is connected by a hinge 8 with of each brace memb with a slidable block 10 which is disposed in a strut or brace member 9. The upper end er 9 is pivotally connected the groove and is and. arrangements herein described 4 are diagrammatic views any suitable type. Mounted on bottom frame pieces 4 2, arecured to said hangers,

a groove 11 of the frame member 2, as is shown in Fig. 6. Thisblock is'slidable in provided with two recesses 12 and 13 which are arranged .to receive the locking fingers 14 and 15 of pivoted locking members 16 and 17 respectively. oted locking member "16 is connected by a link with a lever 19 disposed in the cock pit of the aeroplane, while the pivoted locking member 17 is connected by a link 20 with a The pivlever 21. The lever 22 is-mounted on a pivot v and a link 23 is connected eccentrically at one end tothe lever 22 and at the other end to the hanger 6.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, the operation thereof may be readily understood. Fig. 1 shows the landing gear in position for use. In this position it will be observed that the finger 14 of the block 10 is in the recess 12,

ear in position.- After the aeroplane isin flight, the landing thus locking the landing gear may be folded by pushing forwardly on the lever 19, thus rotating the pivoted locking member 16 and finger 14 from the notch or recess 12. The lever 22 may now be pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow, thereby swinging the hangers 6 and the strut 9 into the dotted line position indicated in 15 of the pivoted v the block in position. The landing gear wil now be in the position,'-shown diagrammatically in Fig, 2, being 'in'oved from the position shown diagrammatically shown inFi .3.

When it'is desired to land, all that is necessary is to push rearwardly on the lever '21 whereupon the pivoted locking member 17 will be swung so as to bring thefinger 15 out of the recess 13 and the block 10 being thus-freed, will move forward in the groove under the weightof the landing gear until it reaches the pivoted locking finger 14 which will enter the groove 12, thus locking the landing gear in position for landing.

I claim: The combination with an aeroplane of pivoted hangers carried thereby, wheels. se-

struts hinged to the bottom portion of said" hangers, s'lidable blocks connected with the upper ends of said struts, frame members provided with I Fig. 1. -When the,

block 10 reaches the finger locking member 17, the finger will enter thercess 13, thus lockin in Fig.- 4, through thap withdrawing the grooves arranged to receive said block s a rigid link connected at oneendto the said hangers and at the other end to, alever in the cock pit of the aeroplane for swinging the lower end of said hangers upwardly,

' 5 thereby sliding 'said blocks in the grooves in said frame members, pivoted locking members connected by rigid links to levers in the cock pit of the aero v lane for locking said blocks at the ends of the line of travel'in said grooves and for unlocking the said 10 v blocks at will .to permihthe lower ends of said hangers-to be swung downwardly by vthe force of gravity.

MORTON HALBERT' MEGAFFIN. 

